AdventHealth Expands Transplant Services with Firsts in Living Donor Liver and Heart-After-Liver Transplants

Orlando-based AdventHealth Transplant Institute has recently achieved two significant milestones in transplant surgery, expanding its capabilities and offering hope to more patients with complex conditions. Surgeons successfully completed the institute’s first living donor liver transplant and its first heart-after-liver transplant (HALT) procedure.

First Living Donor Liver Transplant

The institute’s newly established living donor liver transplant program performed its inaugural procedure involving a four-year-classic patient and a family friend who served as the donor. This marks a significant expansion of AdventHealth’s liver transplant services, providing an alternative for patients awaiting deceased donor organs.

Pioneering Heart-After-Liver Transplant (HALT) Procedure

AdventHealth is now among a select group of U.S. Centers offering the heart-after-liver transplant (HALT) procedure. This innovative approach involves transplanting the liver first, which can reduce the risk of antibody-mediated rejection before proceeding with a heart transplantation. The HALT procedure is particularly beneficial for complex, sensitized patients who may not qualify for traditional heart transplantation at many other centers.

“Heart After Liver Transplant enables us to care for complex, sensitized patients who may not qualify at many centers,” said Ahmad Zeeshan, MD, surgical director of the heart transplant program at AdventHealth in a news release. “It expands our ability to offer transplantation to individuals who otherwise face significant barriers.”

About AdventHealth Transplant Institute

The AdventHealth Transplant Institute offers comprehensive care for patients undergoing liver and heart transplantation. The institute emphasizes personalized treatment plans, collaborative care, and state-of-the-art technology. AdventHealth’s median transplant wait time is less than one-quarter of the national average.

For more information about AdventHealth’s transplant programs, visit AdventHealth’s website or the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients.